Purina puppy chow and adult food?

[Shaiasaur]

I was talking to the breeder that I will be getting my puppy from maybe, and she said she feeds them Purina.

And she said she feeds her adults Purina too.

I'm just not too sure if you guys think that it is a good food for them.

If not, then I will most likely get TOTW or Blue Buffalo Wilderness.

EDIT!: Also, at what age should you stop feeding your puppy puppy chow and start feeding them adult food?

Edited June 11, 2012 by Shaiasaur

[aronoiiel]

Pet food I think is more about what you can afford vs your personal feelings about them. A lot of people will say no it's not a good food for this and that reason (mainly it has alot of fillers in it and it's made with grains which some dogs have allergies to) but if a dog does well on it then I say let it be.

Firstly though it's a baby so when you get your pup you're going to want to keep them on the same food for at least a month while they adjust to all the major changes in their life. Then if you decide you want to feed something you feel is healthier then slowly switch the pup off of the food.

I for one know people that feed everything from the cheapest most basic kibble available all the way up to the most expensive grain free you can get. All those pets are healthy and very happy. In all cases it all depends on what YOU feel is best for your dog and what your dog can handle digestive and allergy wise. Just watch your pup it will tell you what it needs

[LittleLuka]

Luka was on purina puppy chow when i picked him up. I fed him it for a week while he was settling in because I didn't want to stress him out even more. After that week i started to transition his food. For two days I gave him 25% new food, 75% old food, 2 days after that 50%, 50%, 2 days after that 75% new food, 25% old food. After that I gave him 100% Taste of the Wild and he had no belly problems. Purina won't cause them harm but it's not a good choice for food for them. I personally wanted a grain-free and something holistic.

[Shaiasaur]

Alright, thank you very much. (:

[sutsibe]

I'm not a fan of Purina products, and never have been - I don't feel that the ingredients in the foods are as good as I (personally) like. Purina Pro Plan and Purina One are slightly better, in my opinion, than the other Purina foods. Even at that, take a look at the Pro Plan All Life Stages Lamb and Rice ingredients (All Life Stages Lamb & Rice Formula Small Bites - Products - Purina® Pro Plan®)

Lamb, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, ground wheat, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), oat meal, barley, dried beet pulp, fish meal

A named meat being the first ingredient is good, although Lamb meal would be better, because by weight there would be more lamb and less water. It's followed by a number of poor-quality grains in the brewer's rice, corn gluten meal and wheat. The poultry-by-product meal could be good (heart, gizzard, liver) or bad (beaks, feet, feathers). I would prefer the next ingredient, "animal fat", be named by source - "chicken fat" or "beef fat". Oat meal and barley are better quality grains, but are further down the list, and dried beet pulp is somewhat controversial - I personally don't mind it in my dog food, because like psyllium fiber and pumpkin, it's a fiber that tends to help regulate the gut and keep stools at a good consistency. Fish meal I like.

I would get a small amount of whatever food the puppy has been on, and switch, if you are going to, to whatever food you choose over the course of a week or two to prevent intestinal upsets - it will make house training much easier! Hope that this was helpful...

[sutsibe]

Pet food I think is more about what you can afford vs your personal feelings about them. A lot of people will say no it's not a good food for this and that reason (mainly it has alot of fillers in it and it's made with grains which some dogs have allergies to) but if a dog does well on it then I say let it be.

I agree - to a point! I have found that I feed far less when I feed a more expensive food, higher in animal protein than with a grain-based food, and that the better food tends to help with health problems, long-run, which cuts down on vet bills...

[Shaiasaur]

I mean, I do work and I get paid every two weeks. Around Christmas time I get paid around almost $200.00 but now, I've been getting up to $80.00 I could afford the 24ib TOTW or BBW, but I'd rather just go to the store and get something like Purina.

I feed my cat 9 Lives and such, but cat's usually eat dead birds and mice, which their tummies can handle it, so I am not so scared of the ingredients.

I just want the best for my dog and stuff. I mean, McDonald's and such isn't healthy, but we eat it lol.

[husky49]

A few years ago I nearly drove myself crazy reading dog food reviews online and experimenting with a number of high end dog foods (Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, etc.). What I discovered was that with the higher end foods, for my dogs, the quality of the output declined as the quality of the input went up (if you get my meaning, I'm trying to be delicate here). I finally settled on Eukanuba Adult Maintenance which is a relatively inexpensive food but both my dogs are thriving on it and cleanup after them is much easier (think logs versus pudding). Hope i haven't offended lol.

[kah454]

We recently adopted a six year old female husky from our local shelter. She was one of 10 dogs from from a hoarding situation. She is very different from our last Husky who we lost last year to cancer. She too was a rescue. Blinky when we got her was being fed "Blue" once a day. We continued this initially. She wasn't crazy about this and was not eating. We added a little plain boiled chicken and moistened the dry food with some of the plain broth. She now eats twice a day, more like a grazer. Her weight is maintaining at a correct level and her movements are normal. Any suggestions? Thanks

[Austinville]

..... but I'd rather just go to the store and get something like Purina...

Please don't take this the wrong way...........but just because it's easier to find does not make it a good thing. Huskies, like all dogs are hard work. I wouldn't skimp on the food. There is much to be said about a good quality food.

That said, only you know what lengths you're willing to go to (be it financially or going out of your way to find the quality). I'm not judging, just putting my two cents in.

I wasn't knowledgeable about good foods when I got my first husky. But before long, I had him on a quality food and I enjoyed his company for over 15 years. Fortunately for you, you belong to a forum where good advice is plentiful ----- use it to your advantage!

Know the old saying "You get what you pay for?" In instances of food, this is quite often the case. Not always the case, but in the majority of circumstances it is.

[LittleLuka]

As Becky has said, before getting a husky (or any dog for that matter) make sure you can afford it. Sure, it might be cheaper to feed your dog a lower quality dog food... but in my personal opinion why would you want to? im not judging people who do but i want my Luka to have GOOD quality food. that doesn't mean i have to buy the most expensive but it does mean i read articles and got other opinions on what was the right food for my boy.

I've been feeding Luka TOTW and may have to actually change foods due to him being kinda scrawny but i can promise you it won't be anything like purina. Different dogs thrive on different foods but my vet never recommends foods like kibbles and bits.

I'm not trying to be offensive or rude in any way. This is strictly my opinion. I can honestly say i knew nothing about dog food until my parents got their lab and started feeding him Fromms.

[Tatipu]

Yeah lol I knew nothing about dog food and I always assumed dog food was all the same when I was little and even up until about a year ago. My minpin is healthy and we've been feeding him purina since forever? But ever since a little before Jelly I've been so strict on feeding them both something better like Blue Buffalo or TOTW. +_+ My dad asks why am I feeding them better than I feed myself but :\. . . ... -does not eat often but when I do it there's no veggies ........... -

I've never seen my minpin have problems with purina before but Jelly gets really loose stool and tummy aches. It might be because she didn't agree with it but I think it's also because it contains a lot of corn which isn't exactly digestible and nutrient rich .

Even though a 4.5 lb bag of Purina is 4-6 $ and Blue buffalo is 14-16$ for the same weight here (forgot TOTW) it's worth it because your dog won't need to eat as much to get the nutrients s/he needs to grow big and strong .

So maybe you should still consider trying out quality food for you doggy and you can even go to the blue buffalo website for a free 5$ off coupon xD. Not much but yeah .But I don't have anything against it since my minpin has always been healthy even before I changed his diet. So it's up to you but if you could, quality, I think would be a much better fit (:

[huskygirl1]

I mean, I do work and I get paid every two weeks. Around Christmas time I get paid around almost $200.00 but now, I've been getting up to $80.00 I could afford the 24ib TOTW or BBW, but I'd rather just go to the store and get something like Purina.

I feed my cat 9 Lives and such, but cat's usually eat dead birds and mice, which their tummies can handle it, so I am not so scared of the ingredients.

I just want the best for my dog and stuff. I mean, McDonald's and such isn't healthy, but we eat it lol.

Hi there! So, I feed my dog Blue Buffalo. At first my dog did not like it because I guess it does not taste as good as the other commercial dog foods? But honestly, most commercial dog foods do not have nutritional value and are made with really bad ingredients ( some have rode kill in it!). I love how you mentioned McDonald's and how we eat it. It is sooo bad for us and yet not that many people know that it is. It has so many preservatives that it does not even decompose when left out for several months! Now imagine that in our stomach! Very gross. Anyways, yes so same thing can apply to a dog with the cheap dog foods. The best, is to always go for the dog foods that are more organic. I have also seen some different kinds of dogs foods at mother's market. I hope this helped.

Edited June 12, 2012 by huskygirl1

[Shaiasaur]

Thank you all for your comments and I will take all of them to heart.

I do understand that animals are a huge responsibility, and even require a great food source for their growth.

I will do what LittleLuka has said about the splitting up the food after a week.

Thank you all once again. Just the breeder said that is what she feeds her huskies.

[C_Scar]

I feed Bart Beneful and he's been very healthy. I tried the Blue buffalo and it did not agree with him at all, He had constant loose stools from it. I slowly adjusted him to it and still it didn't agree with him. I took him to the vet and they put him on prescription food which helped and then I started him on the Beneful and I've had no problems. He's 14 months now and still on puppy food, the vet said to keep him on the puppy food until about 18 months while he's still growing and putting on weight. Once he goes to adult food I'm going to try the Taste of the Wild and see how he does. Also I feed him fresh veggies, fruits, and meats in addition to the Beneful. If you're going to feed your pup fruits and veggies make sure you check out which ones are no good for dogs (grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, etc.) Also introduce these slowly to see if any of them cause digestive issues.

You have to see how your pup handles foods. Huskies tend to have sensitive tummy's. For example Bart doesn't handle salmon, anything he eats with salmon gives him an upset tummy. Just remember to slowly adjust the pup to new food and see how they do. Like others have said at first 25% new food, then 50%, then 75% and finally 100%.

[sutsibe]

We recently adopted a six year old female husky from our local shelter. She was one of 10 dogs from from a hoarding situation. She is very different from our last Husky who we lost last year to cancer. She too was a rescue. Blinky when we got her was being fed "Blue" once a day. We continued this initially. She wasn't crazy about this and was not eating. We added a little plain boiled chicken and moistened the dry food with some of the plain broth. She now eats twice a day, more like a grazer. Her weight is maintaining at a correct level and her movements are normal. Any suggestions? Thanks

Well, I guess you have two choices that I can see... You can continue as you have been, with the Blue and supplementing it with the chicken and broth, which seems to be working relatively well, or you can try to switch her to another brand of food that she might enjoy more. It's possible that at some point earlier in her life, she was fed more human food or one of the cheaper brands of dog food that tend to be loaded with flavors (such as salt, sugar, and so on) to make them more palatable, in which case she's less likely to really be crazy about a new food, either. Keep in mind that some Siberians have very efficient metabolisms, and really don't need as much food as others...

[kah454]

Thank you, we have tried switching dry food and she seems to be eating much better. I am now confirmed that she is a grazer and will take her time eating. (Our previous Husky ate more like a vacuum so you are right each dog can have very different metabolisms.)We are gradually increasing the percentage of the dry food as she needs the nutrients it contains. We really try to avoid food and treats with excess salt. We have had to take serious attention with her grooming as she came to us from a hoarding situation and her coat was not in the best cared state. We had her up to the vet's office who does the grooming for us and had her weighed. She is maintaining at 49lbs which is within her range. I am really glad to know this forum is here.